Sealing discharge-passages of centrifugalizing-machines and the like.



S. H. HALL.

SEALING DISCHARGEPASSAGES 0F CENTRIFUGALIZING MACHINES AND THE LIKE. APPLICATION FILED JAN-28.1914.

1,149,578.- PatentedAng. 10,1915.

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UNITED STATES PATEN T OFFICE.

SELDEN H. HALL, OF POUGHKEEPSIE. NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO THE DE LAVAL SEPARATOR COMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Au 10, 1915.

Application filed January 28, 1914. Serial No. 814,881.

To all whom. it may concern Be it known that 1, SELnnx H. HALL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Poughkeepsie, county of Dutchess, State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Sealing Discharge- Passages of Centrifugalizing-Machines and the like; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

In an application for Letters Patent of the United States, Serial No. 756,835, filed March 26, 1913, I have described and claimed certain provisions for sealing the discharge passages of centrifugalizing machines and the like against the ingress of air, which would otherwise be entrained by what might be called the injecting action of the centrifugalizing liquid as it leaves the bowl and enters the annular collecting pas sage designed for its reception. In order to prevent the drawing in of the air by the escaping force of the centrifugalized liquid as it leaves the bowl, the receiving passage is provided with a narrow annular mouth and trough, which is directly opposite to and in close proximity to the discharge mouth of the bowl and the discharge mouth of the bowl rotates within an annular chamher which is in open communication with the annular trough of the receiving passage, so that by setting up a back pressure in the receiving passage, a permanent liquid seal of the centrifugalized liquid will exist at all times in the annular chamber against the ingress of air therethrough. In constructions of this kind. it is desirable that the rotating discharge elements of the centrifugal izing machine should move with the least allowable clearance with respect to the sta-' tionary annular sealing chamber. in order that the seal shall be permanently cli'cctivc as againstfiuctuations in the pressure conditions and other incidents of the centrifugalizing operation. In the centrifugal machines. l1o\v ever. particularly those of the milk clarilier type, there is always the danger that by reason of wear of the ste]' -bearing or accident thereto. the rotating parts will drop to a lowerposition than the normal, thereby bripging the lower surface of the rotating discharge element of the machine into'contact with the adjacent shelf or bottom of the annular sealing chamber, with results which might be disastrous at the high speeds used in this class. of apparatus, especially as the entire weight of the bowl with its driving apparatus .would come upon the shelf or bottom of the annular chamber in such case.

Safety requires that the clearance be much greater than is necessary from the sealing standpoint, but it is also desirable, as indicated, to provide the least allowable clearance consistent with safety.

It is the purpose of the present invention to realizethisresult, and, at the same time, to simplify the construction of the elements constituting the seal and to render their operation more effective.

In the accompanying drawing,-l igure 1 represents, partly in section and partly in elevation, the upper body portion and neck of a rotatory ccntrifugalizing machine, embodying the present improvements; Fig. 2 represents a bottom plan view of the telescoping member of the rotatory sealing device; Fig. 3 represents a bottom plan view of the cover plate constituting one of the elements of the discharge passage of the bowl; and Fig. 4 represents a fragmentary view of one of the elements of the bowl discharge.

Similar letters of reference indicate similar parts throughout the several views.

Referring to the drawing, 1L indicates a centrifugalizing bowl, as, for instance, the bowl of a milk clarilier, and ll indicates the stationary casing thereof. The bowl is adapted to rotate, upon a ste 'i-bcaring, or the like. in a vertical position, and is pro vidcd with a hollow shaft ll extending up from the bottom of the bowl and rotating therewith.

The bowl A has a contracted neck V as is usual in milk clarificrs, and. on the outside of the neck is formed a shelf a for the reception of a packing ring c. Upon the ring 1' rests an annular member D having an owl-hang (I, which carries all annular sealing ring consisting of a ring base '11. and a c lindrical flange r. The upright flange v is secured to the overhang (I, by means of pins 4.0, which engage in bayonet joint grooves The annular mcmber I) forced down upon the packing ring (1 by spafcrs 1/ (see Fig. 3). on the underside of an annular cover plate F having a screwthrradcd hub which engages with corresponds g screw.

shaft R of v is the filling or feed receptacle M, the bottom of which is shaped to complete the configuration of the annular receiving passage or chamber, this passage or chamber being of any suitable or approved configuration appropriate to the particular conditions of use. Leakage from the receiving chamber,

at the joint between the member I and the bottom rim of the vessel M is guarded against by the interposition of the packing ringn. The filling vessel or feed receptacle M is provided with a "discharge spout O which enters the central tube of the centrifugal; For the purpose of controlling the pressure within the receiving 'assage or chamber, the discharge conduitleading therefrom is provided with a controlling valve R, as shown.

The overhang d projects over the vertical annular walla of a sealing chamber, which wall projects fromthe inner edge of a horizontal shelf 1). Both the walla and the tom is the horizontal shelf 6, from which the shelf 12 may be, cast integral with the annular member I. i l

It will be noted that when the construction as above described, is'adopted, the cen trifugal has a, narrow annular discharge throat, which is located opposite a similarnarrow annular receiving throat of the chamber or passage X, so that the formerdischarges directly into the latter and that the rotatory parts of the sealing device rotate within an annular chamber whose roof is the bottom of the vessel Maud-whose botcylindrical wall a rises.

In order to make it safe to operate vthe machine with very small clearance. between the botoni of u and the top of the shelf 6, the member 'uis, by means of the flange o -made to partially telescope over the overhang d. A'spring farranged between the overhang cl and the ring plate a forces them apart, but the inwardly projecting engaging the bayonet grooves w, as' ereinbefore referred to, prevent=separation'beyond a predetermined distance. Thespring f is so flexible that, in case of accident to the step-bearing of the bowl shaft, or wear thereof, of such a character as to'allow the bowl to drop sufficiently to bring the lower.

surface'of the ring plate It into contact with the upper surface of the shelf b, the sp ing will yield sufliciently to permit the ring u and the overhang cl to approach each other, so that the pressure of u against 1) will be so slight as to cause no damage.

The mode of operation of the device is as follows: The liquid to be treated is supplied 7 to the feed vessel M and passes thence through the tube 0 into the bowl A. After treatment, the liquid rises in a""thin layerinside the neck V of the centrifugal, and

entering the narrow throat between the y lower surface of the cover plate and the up-- per surface of the .overhang d, it is dis charged at great velocityinto the narrow mouth and throat of the annular receiving passage or chamber X. The liquid thus passinginto thereceiving vessel tends to' i draw in the surrounding air, but, 10 nipulating the controlling valve R 1n the discharge conduits P, or by the discharge against a hydraulic head, or by other approved means, .a back pressure is created in 1 the passage or chamber X, which has the-$1 efi'ect of causing part of the liquid to flow back into the space'between the throat of the bowl and the walls of the annular cham-'; -ber in which the throat revolves.

An in crease of the back pressure will force the liquid back over the upper surface of the cover plate F and also back over the upper Isa surface of the shelf 6. The passage of the liquid back over theuppersurface of the plate F would do no harm because it would flow back into the bowl, and leakage by the outflow of liquid over the shelf 6 .may be prevented by making use of the centrifugal force with suitable provision" for utilizing the same. To this end, the under surface of the ring-u and the upper surface of the shelf 1 celerate'the rotary movement of theliquid I) should have such a configuration as to acin the space between them. For: instance, t the bottom surface of the ring a may be pro vided with the oblique grooves it, represented in Fig. 2. i. e.,withthe configuration shown, and with a very small clearance between the underside of the ring at and the upper I over the upwardly extendingring a at the 116:

inner edge of the'shelf I), with the pressure required to prevent entrance of air.

' Obviously, if, for any reason, it is desired to use as higher pressure-in the passage or chamber X, two or more 'collapsiblefsealing ringsmay be used. So also, as I have shownin the drawing, I prefer that the'yielding. v. a element of the seal shall be carried by the 'side of the shelf 6 there is no leak of liquid rotating parts, (as, for instance, the ring a, 'i by the rotating overhang d). The non-rotatory shelfb may constitute or be provided ing element and the non-rotating element may be provided with a yielding member, I

should conditions of use indicate the advisability of such construction: The'fundamental or generic idea of the invention, in this respect, is to so arrange the rotatory surface and the non-rotatory, surface of the sealin device that should they come in contact t cone or the other, or both, will be:

1 20 'withthe sealing element, or both the rotat 1 a protected against destructive pressure, by

appropriately yielding or collapsing.

What I claim is:

l. A sealing device, for preventing the drawing in of air at the liquid discharge mouth of a rotatory apparatus, said sealing sage.

device comprising a rotatory element and a non-rotatory element with an intervening liquid seal, means for yieldingly relieving the pressure of the one on the other should they come in contact, and means for setting up centrifugal force in the seal sufiicient to prevent its escape inwardly.

2. A sealing device, for preventing the drawing in of air. at the liquid discharge mouth of a rotatory apparatus, said sealing device cmnprising a rotatory element and a non-rotatory element with an intervening liquid seal, means for yieldingly relieving the pressure of the one on the other should they come in contact, said means comprising a spring seat for one of said elements, and means for setting up centrifugal force in the seal suliicient to prevent its escape inwardly.

3, Mechanism for maintaining a liquid seal. comprising a rotatory part mounted to rota e within an annular sealing chamber, said rotatory part carrying a yielding bottom plate moving in close proximity to the opposed surface of the sealing chamber and separated therefrom by a liquid-sealing pasl. Mechanism for maintaining a liquid seal, comprising a rotatory part mounted to rotate within an annular sealing chamber, said rotatory part carrying a yielding bottom plate moving in close proximity to the opposed surface of the sealing chamber and separated therefrom by a liquid-sealing passage, said yielding plate having likewise a circular flange encompassing the main body Mechanism for maintaining a liquid seal, comprising a rotatory part mounted to rot-ate within an annular sealing chamber,

said rotatory part carrying a yielding bottom plate moving in close proximity to the opposed surface of the sealing chamber and separated therefrom by a liquid-sealing pastrough communicating with said mouths, an

annular and dipping into said trough, and means for causing a back pressure from the receiving chamber to maintain the liquid seal.

7. A centrifugalizing bowl having a narrow annular discharge mouth, a receiving chamber having a narrow annular receiving mouth in close proximity to the discharge mouth of the bowl, an annular liquid-sealing trough communicating with said mouths, an annular overhang rotating with the bowl and dipping into said trough and carrying a yielding bottom plate, and means for causing a back pressure upon the receiving chamher to maintain a liquid seal between the yielding bottom plate and the opposing surface of the trough.

8. A centrifugalizing bowl having a narrow annular discharge mouth, a receiving chamber having a narrow annular receiving mouth in close proximity tothe discharge mouth of thebowl, an annular liquid-sealing trough communicating with said mouths, an annular overhang rotating with the bowl and dipping into said trough and carrying a yielding bottom plate, said bottom plate having a configuration to accelerate the rotatory movement of the liquid between it and the opposing surface of the trough, and means for causing a back pressure upon the receiving chamber to maintain a liquid seal between the yielding bottom plate and the opposing surface of the trough.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature, in presence'of two witnesses.

, SELDEN H. HALL.

l/Vitnesses: i

CHARLES L. POWELL, S. B. RooKEFELJacn overhang rotating with the bowl- C0 rrecti0r 1s in Letters Ptent'Nd; 1,149,578.

' Itiis herebi zl bifiedithat Letters Pgfienfi No 1, i 49,,'578, grzfiitea August 1 U, 19 1 5, upon the application bf Selden H. Hall, of Poughkepsie, N evif {fg n improvement in 1:sealingDischarge-Passages 0f C e nt rifugix'lizing-Ma chineg and Page 1, line 21, fox: thewbrd c'entrifugalizing read c entrifugal'izegl; page 46, fo r the wqrd ffbgtomVrad bottom; and that the said LgbjteraPg bent glibum fead with these de ections therein that the sizmga'may conform f0 thl 'ecbrd. of

case the Patent Ofiib.

Signediand sealed this 5th day of Otober, A. 11,1915. I v R. F. WHITEHEAD,

Acting aomm'is siomr qf Patents;

[SEAL] errors appe z ir in the .printedspeificatiqn requiring 'corrcfion 'as follows 

